27 weeks pregnant - baby will be delivered anytime

[Laura2919]

Hi Hun,

I had Chloe and Jaycee via C Section at 29 weeks. I tried natural but the consultant came in and said I'd somehow caught septicaemia and I had to deliver them by section under general! I was asleep and it was awful but as long as my girls were fine I didnt care. They were born 2 minutes apart, both crying. Chloe was 3lb10oz and Jaycee was 3lb5oz. They were pretty big for their gestation. Neither needed ventilation and were only ventilated and sedated while they were transferred to another hospital who could care for them as where they were born was full. They came home after just 4 weeks in neo natal. I didnt understand how sick premature babies can get until Jaycee was 11 months old and was admitted to hospital with bronchialitus and RSV. There was 3 other children who were brought in and all left before her. It got me really upset but the doctor explained that Jaycee fights a lot harder to get better which makes her more tired whereas other babies dont need to fight as bad. It took her 5 days to recover and was allowed home only to get it again in February this tiem with pnuemonia (sp) she gets ill every winter so we now have an asthma pump for her to use come winter time.

 

[xxClaire_24xx]

wow they were good weights for the twins, Ive decided im not going to worry anymore til im told she is being delivered and then if I have to have a ceserean then it will be in the best interest for me and the baby xx

 

[hopedance]

okay, now some of these are not pretty, apologies in advance!!

this is me in my hospital room, hubby is taking the last photo of bump:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009254.jpg

this is where i was to have the catherter put in by the midwife i most trusted. this is in my hospital room still:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009265.jpg

I requested to wear my own PJs for the c-section rather than a hospital gown. you can spot my catheter bag that i'm holding:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009258.jpg

here i am just waiting around for everyone to be ready to take me to theatre. you can see the bottoms of the toe-thigh compression tights that stop you getting clots. the monitor is just keeping an eye on baby:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009270.jpg

here i am sitting on a trolley, they've just put tubes into my hands/wrists, the usually do this into the back of your hands, but i didn't want them there and requested them higher up. i'm just waiting for the epidural to be put in, the pillow is there for me to lean over while they put it into my spine:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009271.jpg

here they are just cutting me open:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009272.jpg

then the actual birth:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009273.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009274.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009275.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009276.jpg

they put baby on a special trolley for the specialists to look after him:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009277.jpg

then they bundle him up:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009278.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009279.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009280.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009282.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009284.jpg

then they brought him over so i could get a quick look and a kiss:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009289.jpg

this is me after the c-section before they took me over to my room:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009292.jpg

then 4 hours later, we went to intensive care and got our first cuddle:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009295-1.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009205.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/August2009203.jpg

i hope these help a bit, they are actually only a few of many, if there is anything else you'd like to see i'll dig more out. we had 2000 photos of our hospital experience, lol.

 

[pink.crazy]

Pictures as promised.. (whoops bit of a pic overload...!)

Leo just born, 28+3.. just been intubated
https://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs029.ash2/34792_409650061430_522966430_5117741_7432751_n.jpg

This was my first glimpse, they brought him past my bed to take him up to NICU
https://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs029.ash2/34792_409650066430_522966430_5117742_6005460_n.jpg

3 hours old, when me and OH got to see him
https://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs049.snc4/34792_409650081430_522966430_5117745_2981471_n.jpg

15 hours old, Leo was now on CPAP
https://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs508.snc3/26688_409650931430_522966430_5117758_490651_n.jpg

This was one of the hardest times for me, not being able to see his little face..
https://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs151.snc4/36897_411221426430_522966430_5161898_3983117_n.jpg

Just to give you an idea of the size of a 2lb 11oz'er (although they look SO much bigger on photos)
https://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs054.snc4/35047_411221771430_522966430_5161907_5542494_n.jpg

First cuddle 3 days old
https://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs074.snc4/35047_411221796430_522966430_5161912_7353839_n.jpg

This is how you feed baby in the early days..
https://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs054.snc4/35047_411221806430_522966430_5161914_7796205_n.jpg

https://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs130.snc4/36864_411222136430_522966430_5161919_4457127_n.jpg

3 weeks old and in an open cot
https://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs166.snc4/37657_416740721430_522966430_5303086_1722567_n.jpg

Being weighed
https://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs191.ash2/45382_423629351430_522966430_5516515_5231009_n.jpg

Ready to come home at 35+5
https://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs316.snc4/41148_425516961430_522966430_5567470_1802943_n.jpg

 

[xxClaire_24xx]

thanks for the pictures girls they are very true to life!!!!! but a good idea I must admit that I thought that a baby being born that small would be much smaller, I know that they look big in the picture like you say but I really did expect well actually I dont know what I expected

So can you wear pyjama bottoms with the cathetar in xx

 

[katy1310]

Lovely photos....makes me wish we'd thought to get DH to take photos of Sophie being born but we were too scared to even think about taking the camera in! I wish we had those early photos though. They did try to get DH's attention to see her being born but they didn't get him fast enough and she was whisked away to a room next to the theatre for them to get her sorted out. He did get to see her 2 hours later when she was settled in NICU but I had to wait 24 hours Our hospital wasn't very good at offering cuddles, and I had to wait 3 weeks! Some other premmie mums and I were just saying that yesterday - compared to other hospitals who really encourage kangaroo care from really early on, ours wasn't great at letting us have cuddles! xx

 

[hopedance]

yes you can wear them with the cathetar. but - i bargained this arrangement with the staff in advance. most/all women will simply assume they have to, and be expected to wear a hospital gown. i have a very intense fear of medical situations/touch/hospitals and all the staff were amazing at letting me change the situation to make it easier for me to stay calm, so part of that was having my own clothes on. i actually had the catheter inserted while i was wearing pj bottoms, through a small hole i'd cut in the appropriate place. my hubby then cut those off me, and i put on a clean pair that didn't have a hole. lol.

seeing preemies in photos is funny, they do look so much bigger, but just the occasional photo makes them look tiny, this one of sam (he was 3lbs 4) i always think makes him look smaller than other pics:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/little_miss_em716/DSCF0230.jpg

if i could give you advice, for all of this, being in hospital, birth and having a preemie, is to get as much information as you can, and fight for exactly what you want. i had a very different experience to many women, because my anxiety drove me to fight passionately to have things my way, and looking back i am so glad that i did. things like holding the baby, and kangeroo care, the hospital we were in was mainly good, but some nurses told me i couldn't hold him, and i simply overruled them and gave him kangeroo care (as okayed with some of the other nurses/doctors, but some just seem to make their own rules and try to make you abide by them). other stuff, like lots of things around giving birth, are not essential and you can have things done differently.

 

[xxClaire_24xx]

yeah im not too good in medical situations when I had the amnio Peter was by my right hand side and I snuggled into his chest with me lying on the bed and him sitting next to me and I nearly passed out cause I forgot to breath, so i will definetly want to talk to medical staff in advance, do you think that it is worth doing a birth plan for a planned ceaserean explaining my fears and wishes and hope that it gets followed xx

 

[hopedance]

yes definitely do a birth plan!

some things that they let me have were - an all female team in the operating room, the consultant i knew well did the surgery, obviously my own clothes, putting the catheter in in my room rather than in the operating theatre or prep room, i had my music playing during the c-section, had hubby with a camera, the midwife i knew best came in from her day off to support me, i met the anaesthetists before hand and they had a look at my back so they could advise me how long they thought putting the epidural/spinal block in would take (it depends on what your spine is like.. or something like that), i got a tour around the operating rooms and SCBU, instead of a nurse cleaning me up afterwards they gave hubby all he needed and he helped me wash and change, sometimes during the c-section they want vaginal access and i let them know i did not consent to that (and that my pj bottoms were to remain on at all times lol), i waxed my own pubic area instead of a nurse doing it.. what else? oh i took my own catheter out lol. they said i could put it in myself too if i wanted to but i couldn't reach. i'm a terrible patient!

when i was first admitted, they put me into a 4 bed ward, well they tried, but i sat under the table in the community area and cried hysterically all night so then they gave me my own room, with an extra bed for hubby, complete with fridge, microwave and kettle.

 

[xxClaire_24xx]

aw what you like, quite right though if you are not a good patient then they should make you feel at ease xx

 

[xxClaire_24xx]

is getting the epidural sore? and getting the cathetar out sore xx

 

[25weeker]

Hi I never had a c section but I had a spinal block for an emergency stitch and an epidural during labour incase I needed a section as I had an infection. They weren't the most comfortable being put in but it didn't take that long so bearable. After it was removed it felt like I had a bruise where it went in if some pressure was put on it. The catheter doesn't hurt coming out. I was so paranoid after my spinal block I would accidentally pull it out in my sleep moving around so barely slept at all!

I hope your lo stays cooking for many weeks to come.

Good luck xx

 

[xxClaire_24xx]

yeah thats what im thinking will I pull it out when im sleeping and then wont be able to sleep cause of thinking about it

So do I, I wouls love to get to 30 weeks xx

 

[hopedance]

yes the epidural was sore, i made a fuss and cried, but again, i am a terrible patient. lol. it's nothing to be afraid of, it's not awful pain and it won't last long. i'd recommend you don't get too much info on what they actually do when they put it in, because i went on youtube and watched videos and that was what upset me really, the reality of getting it put in is that they give you local anesthetic anyway, it's just like pressure and poking. it's just really icky to think about.

one massive plus, is that they will leave it in for you afterwards, i think the spinal block wears off, but they leave the epidural bit in (or top it up? i'm not sure) so you have fantastic pain relief immediately after. unfortunately mine got pulled out accidentally so i didn't get that pain relief. it may have been because i refused to wear the hospital gown that it pulled out, but i'm just not thinking about that lol.

getting the catheter out isn't sore at all. i really really hated the sensation of having it in, i kept tugging it and pulling it by accident, which doesn't hurt but it is uncomfortable. so i insisted on having mine out asap, as soon as they said i could do it, you just pull this little syringe thing that deflates the balloon which secures it in your bladder. then you just slide it out and it's gone. i

fingers crossed for 30 weeks! you might make it, that was my goal too and we just lasted.

 

[katy1310]

I had a c section with an epidural and catheter. They put the catheter in after the epidural so I didn't feel a thing when it went in, and as for coming out I didn't even think she'd done it yet! It was similar to taking a tampon out, and I was so surprised when she said that was it done!

Re sleeping and pulling it out, I slept on my back after the section and didn't really move at all - it was sore to move so the pain woke me if I did move.


I was terrified for the epidural but I didn't feel much for long...it was like a really sharp scratch and the numbness kicked in so fast I didn't really have time to think about it. I remember sitting on the side of the operating table absolutely shaking and the nurse had to hold my hands while it went in! The worst thing for me was that you have to sit absolutely still and I was scared to move!

 

[katy1310]

yes definitely do a birth plan!

some things that they let me have were - an all female team in the operating room, the consultant i knew well did the surgery, obviously my own clothes, putting the catheter in in my room rather than in the operating theatre or prep room, i had my music playing during the c-section, had hubby with a camera, the midwife i knew best came in from her day off to support me, i met the anaesthetists before hand and they had a look at my back so they could advise me how long they thought putting the epidural/spinal block in would take (it depends on what your spine is like.. or something like that), i got a tour around the operating rooms and SCBU, instead of a nurse cleaning me up afterwards they gave hubby all he needed and he helped me wash and change, sometimes during the c-section they want vaginal access and i let them know i did not consent to that (and that my pj bottoms were to remain on at all times lol), i waxed my own pubic area instead of a nurse doing it.. what else? oh i took my own catheter out lol. they said i could put it in myself too if i wanted to but i couldn't reach. i'm a terrible patient!

when i was first admitted, they put me into a 4 bed ward, well they tried, but i sat under the table in the community area and cried hysterically all night so then they gave me my own room, with an extra bed for hubby, complete with fridge, microwave and kettle.

Well done you for standing up for what you wanted and making it all a better experience. I think I had similar fears to you and I had a horrible experience really - the only thing I got to make it better was a room on my own after I got really upset in a ward with other people and it was making my blood pressure even higher! Even if you'd been allowed to close the curtains round the bed it would have been marginally more bearable but we weren't!

I felt humiliated really - I wish I'd stood up for what I wanted but I guess at the time, with having no warning that Sophie was coming that day, I didn't really think about it. The worst thing for me was the bed bath the next day. I was given no choice at all about whether I wanted it and they just took everything off me and covered me with towels but then moved the towels and started talking to DH about his work, with me just lying there feeling totally humiliated I pulled the towels back over me till they were ready but they just pulled them off again. I said I wanted to wear my bra under my nightie after the bed bath and they said "Oh you don't need to bother about that!" But I wanted to!!! I just felt much more comfy with it, especially for going to neonatal, and for having visitors. I wasn't even asking the 2 wifies, I asked DH to pass it from my bag ready to wear. Then when I went to neonatal I wanted to wear my dressing gown and they weren't going to let me but I insisted. Then next day when I had to get up for a shower, I asked if DH could help me with it instead of a nurse and they said no. Eventually I managed to persuade them to let a nurse stay in my room rather than in the bathroom with me while I was in the shower but that was all in managed to negociate! Are they ok about letting you do things the way you want if you think about it in advance/put up enough of a fight? I so wish I had - your experience sounds so different because you were so comfortable with it all. I have a huge, huge fear of all things medical and I'm such a private person!

 

[xxClaire_24xx]

im petrified about needles and when i get blood take they have to numb me with a spray and not tell me when they are doing the bloods or I pass out instantly.

I am going to ask if I can be asleep when I get the ceserean I am that scared but the chance if that is propbably none!! I am a very personal person aswell.

have my community midwife tomorrow so going to talk to her about it all xx

 

[katy1310]

im petrified about needles and when i get blood take they have to numb me with a spray and not tell me when they are doing the bloods or I pass out instantly.

I am going to ask if I can be asleep when I get the ceserean I am that scared but the chance if that is propbably none!! I am a very personal person aswell.

have my community midwife tomorrow so going to talk to her about it all xx

They actually asked me if I wanted to be awake or asleep, but I said awake because a) I wanted DH there and he wasn't allowed if I was going to be asleep, and b) I was just desperate to know that Sophie was ok...she hadn't been doing so well that morning and her heartrate was dipping a lot so I just wanted to know she was ok.

 

[xxClaire_24xx]

yeah I think im totally the opposite cause i have been told it takes 10 mins to get the baby out and then Peter can go away with her and I will be left there for 40 mins getting stitched up not knowing whats happening so I think that if im asleep Peter can go with the baby without feeling terrible leaving me behind and then I wont be lying here wondering whats happening, but I will discuss this with my community midwife today xx

 

[hopedance]

yes i think you can choose whether you want to be awake or asleep, they offered me the choice too. i insisted on being awake so that i could make sure they stuck to their side of the bargain!

oh Katy i am so sorry that happened to you. it's things like that that make such a difficult experience all the more traumatic. i got my way because i really kicked off. i wish health professionals would automatically be more considerate of your wishes and more respectful.